Aaghaz-e-Dosti volunteers with their faces painted with tri-colour showed a unique way to boost Indo-Pak bilateral relations by distributing pamphlets with messages of peace and friendship.

Aaghaz-e-Dosti is an initiative for strengthening Indo-Pak relations and developing unwavering bonds of peace and friendship through efforts by youths of both the nations. It calls for enhancing people to people communication under the South Asian Peace and Harmony objective of Mission Bhartiyam, an India-based NGO.

Convener of Aaghaz-e-Dosti campaign, Devika Mittal said, "All this hate and suspicion are just results of misinformation and misunderstanding between both the nations."

Founder of Mission Bhartiyam Ravi Nitesh said, "Cricket is a popular game in both the countries. It can be a way to develop harmonious relations. People take it as an issue of either national shame or national pride. This mindset should be changed.”

Volunteer Mansi Rastogi said, “I painted the face which became so meaningful for a great cause of love and friendship between the both the countries."

A research scholar at AIIMS, Pankaj Pathak said, "We, the people of both the nations, must come together to form a bond of trust. Our dialogues can help in making both the nations prosperous. We must come together to recognize our real capability."

The people’s response was positive. In the very beginning, when the volunteers with posters clipped on their jackets and painted face started to move towards the queue, three people had come forward and introduced themselves as Pakistani. They accepted the posters with messages of peace and friendship from the volunteers happily.

Appreciating the move, Pakistani spectators said, "The effort by Indian youths can change the popular mindsets of both the sides.”

Last month, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, in collaborations with two Pakistan-based NGOs had invited paintings on the theme of Indo-Pak friendship for a calendar which will be launched later this month.

Several other volunteers including Sulabh Srivastava, Abhishek Shukla and Aman Sheikh participated the event.